1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable computers; in particular, this invention relates to a stand that allows a hand-held computer to be propped up for the user's convenience to view the computer display and to be easily connected to peripheral devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need for computer stands has long been apparent. Such stands allow computer displays to be adjusted to accommodate the user's height and viewing angle. Furthermore, stands allow computers to be adjusted in position to accommodate cables that connect the computer to other devices, and thus allow computers to be located apart from the display. For this reason, stands permit office space to be used more efficiently and computers used ergonomically.
In the past, computer stands have been developed both for desk-top computers (as distinguished from lap-top computers), which can interface with external peripheral devices, and for pen-based computers. Lap-top computers as a rule do not require a stand since the display is designed to be adjustable in terms of angle. Computer stands for desk-top computers are bulky and, in order to allow connections to external devices, are often merely horizontal platforms which can rotate in only one plane. The stands for the pen-based computers allow more movement, but either to better protect the computer or to allow the computer to be carried about easily, these stands employ designs which typically do not allow the computer to be connected to external peripheral devices.
Pen-based computers are portable computers which allow for information input by e.g. a light or electromagnetic pen to, respectively, a light- or electomagnetically-sensitive tablet. Their small size renders them portable, but does not allow inclusion of a keyboard. Their advantage lies in their ability to quickly input data, and for this reason they have become popular with salesmen, technicians, and delivery personnel. An example of a commercially available pen-based computer is the Stylistic 1000 from Fujitsu Personal Systems, Incorporated. Pen-based computers are generally held in the user's hand or strapped to the user's arm. They are planar devices: when not held in the hand, they generally lie flat upon a surface. Thus, because the user must position himself almost directly over the display to see it, viewing is difficult when the computer is lying on a surface. Accordingly, stands for these computers have been developed to prop the computer up to make viewing easier.
For example, Prete et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,266 describes a pen-based carrying case which doubles as a computer stand. FIG. 1 of Prete et al., also FIG. 1 herein, depicts a pen-based computer 20 whose viewing angle may be adjusted by tilting the computer at various angles about its base 36. The computer is supported by the computer carrying case at 12 and 14, and is attached by securing means (in one embodiment this is VELCRO, which is attached to both the computer and the carrying case) at 32 and 42. The carrying case doubles as a stand, and its ends 12, 14, and 16 form a protective covering. This covering makes it difficult to attach other devices to the computer. Furthermore, because the stand uses fastening strips such as VELCRO to angle the computer, it may not easily support a heavier, more powerful computer or a pen-based computer with a port replicator (docking port) that allows it to quickly connect to peripheral devices. Finally, the stand in Prete et al. allows the user to position the computer at only one orientation and only one angle. Such a position may be inconvenient, for example, for a left-handed person when the data-entry portion of the computer display is on the right-hand side; such a position may also be inconvenient when glare from overhead lights shines on one side of the computer display.